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O.J. Mayo Insider....can anyone access this?

I know this is probably material for the Draft thread, but I made a thread for it here so it wouldn't be overlooked. Evidentally it is some info regarding O.J.'s rising draft stock due to character issues not being much of a concern anymore...should be an interesting read considering our history with players whom have character concerns and how we are going to do background checks and yada yada yada... anyway, if anyone has ESPN Insider and would access this for us all it would be greatly appreciated, then we could probably move it to the Draft thread afterwards...yes? good. Thanks everyone.

Re: O.J. Mayo Insider....can anyone access this?

With the deadline for underclassmen to declare for the NBA draft behind us, NBA scouts and GMs are ramping up for the Orlando predraft camp on May 27, and individual workouts after the camp ends three days later.

Right now, teams are prohibited from conducting draft workouts until after the camp ends. That means time is being spent in Europe (a number of GMs attended last weekend's Euroleague Final Four in Madrid), in the video room reviewing tape and on the phone doing background checks on prospects.

That might not sound like much, but interesting insights are being gleaned.

Draft prospects, meanwhile, are working hard in gyms in Chicago, Los Angeles and Las Vegas preparing for Orlando or workouts.

In the next few weeks, I'll be traveling to gyms throughout the country to give you a firsthand look at how players are preparing for the draft.

In the meantime, here's the latest word from around the league …

• It's not easy for a draft prospect's stock to move up much when teams can't watch him play. But I'm hearing significant movement is taking place for USC's OJ Mayo.

As more NBA teams watch his tape and do background checks, the more it looks like Mayo may become the consensus No. 3 pick in the draft.

Mayo's stock suffered at the start of the season based on some pretty unrealistic expectations. He's been on scouts' radars since the eighth grade, and many expected him to be a LeBron James-type dominant player as a freshman.

His per-game numbers were excellent for a freshman: 20.7 points, 4.4 rebounds and 3.3 assists on 44 percent shooting from the field and 41 percent shooting from 3-point range. But they didn't blow anyone away.

Scouts complained about his shot selection and the fact that he didn't appear to have the point guard skills they thought he might have. Many dropped him from the top 10 on their draft boards.

But Mayo finished the season strong enough that teams had to go back and re-evaluate the tape. What they're seeing now is generating significant buzz. Multiple GMs are now telling me that Mayo's talent may be as good as advertised.

"When you start to reassess a kid like that and quit looking at just the flaws, you see a very talented basketball player," one prominent GM with a pick in the lottery said. "I think he's going to be great."

But there's another story, too, that's helping Mayo's stock. More and more teams are reporting that their background checks are coming back as positives for Mayo. Teams say that he earned good grades at USC and was a good citizen for coach Tim Floyd, and they report multiple instances of Mayo volunteering to help underprivileged kids.

"Everything that we're hearing is that he's basically a good kid," another GM said. "It's a big deal when you're drafting high. He's got to be good both on and off the court. I had my worries about OJ. But my people are telling me he's OK."

We've moved Mayo up to No. 3 on our big board and will do a more extensive report on him in the coming weeks.

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Mario Chalmers

AP Photo/Eric Gay

Mario Chalmers' title-game heroics have helped his draft stock.

• KU forwards Darrell Arthur and Brandon Rush, along with point guard Mario Chalmers, are all still seeing a bump in their draft stock off their NCAA championship run.

I've had a number of GMs and scouts tell me that I have all three ranked too low in our Top 100. GMs are now saying they have Arthur ranked anywhere from 10-15 in the draft. Rush is ranked as high as 15 on many boards and no lower than 25 on the boards of the teams I spoke with. Chalmers sneaks into the late first round on many of the boards and doesn't drop below 35 on any.

It will be interesting to see if the bump continues once they get into individual workouts. We now have Arthur at No. 13, Rush at No. 20 and Chalmers at No. 31 in our Top 100.

• A number of underclassmen said they would not hire agents when they declared for the draft. However, in the past few weeks, it appears that some of those players have moved off the fence and are strongly leaning toward staying in the draft.

Among those who said they're testing but are likely staying in the draft?

• A number of NBA GMs and scouts were in Madrid last weekend to watch the Euroleague Final Four. What did they find?

Only one serious draft prospect, Maccabi Tel Aviv's Omri Casspi, played in the event. Casspi saw just four minutes of action in the first game versus Montepaschi Siena and didn't do much. He was better in the finals versus CSKA, scoring nine points on 3-for-6 shooting in 12 minutes of play.

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Omri Casspi

AP Photo/Ariel Schalit

Maccabi Tel Aviv's Omri Casspi is drawing NBA interest.

Casspi has great energy and toughness, but he's a borderline first-round pick. Much has been made of the Spurs' apparent interest in Casspi … it's possible, but some of that has to be taken with a grain of salt. Yes, they've made several trips to Israel this year, but many of the Spurs are involved in PeacePlayers International and like to make stops there when going overseas to support the program.

Nike also sponsors a junior tournament every year, and the two big names that came out of that were Serbia's Dejan Musli, a 7-foot-1 center who is just 17 years old, and England's Ryan Richard, another 17-year-old stud. Neither player is eligible for this year's draft.

Overall, the feeling among scouts and GMs is that the talent level in Europe is way down. Some of that is backlash from a number of seemingly high-profile Euro busts, including Darko Milicic, Andrea Bargnani and Marco Belinelli.

There is no question that the enthusiasm that surrounded international players five years ago has significantly waned -- despite the successes of players like Dirk Nowitzki, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili, Pau Gasol and Jose Calderon.

"These things are cyclical, but it's been a while since a young international player has come into the league and turned the league on fire," one GM said. "Then you have a strong collegiate class, and I think it's hard to get too excited about some of the prospects over here."

The main player suffering a bit right now is Italian forward Danilo Gallinari. Three years ago, Gallinari would've been a lock for the top five -- especially given how well he's been playing in the Euroleague. However, teams are worried about his average athleticism and streaky jump shot and how he'll handle the cultural change.

A few years ago, it was all about what international players could do -- the basketball IQ, the versatility and the experience playing in Europe. Now virtually everyone has reservations.

And here's the biggest proof that the Euro stock is at rock bottom. While a couple of teams told me that Gallinari would be a top-five or top-10 pick, I couldn't find one team that actually has him ranked that high on its own big board. Telling.

Next year, however, that could change with Spain's Ricky Rubio. There is already significant buzz about his being a potential No. 1 pick in the draft. As one GM said … these things are cyclical.

Re: O.J. Mayo Insider....can anyone access this?

I've been in basic agreement with the GM/scouts comments on both Mayo and the KU kids.

Mayo comes off a bit like Jordan in attitude, demanding and brash in the sense that he knows he has talent and wants the team around him to match that level. But it was OJ that insisted on D'ing up on Rose early in the season, just as one example. He demands of himself and others it appears.

Doesn't fix his streaky shot, but he is young. Moot point to Pacers fans because he's gone before their pick regardless.

I'd love to get back into the late first and grab Chalmers. It might take him a year but he could PG around the Rondo level I think. Not all star, but eventually a reliable starting distribution PG.

Gallinari dropping hurts Indy though, you'd like to see him bump some other prospects down to us. As long as Bird doesn't grab him instead.

Re: O.J. Mayo Insider....can anyone access this?

Damnit, I want Mayo...I have been high on him for a long time, as well as a long time member of the "competitive fire" over "disruptive premadonna" wing of discussion as well. He is going to be a hell of a player in the league.

Re: O.J. Mayo Insider....can anyone access this?

I still don't get taking Rose over Beasley. Though the teams you list could use a point guard, they could also use a power forward.

Beasley is going to be an NBA small forward.

He's going to measure out somehwere between 6'7"-6'8" w/o shoes.

Even if he was a PF, that wouldn't stop the Knicks from taking him even if they have Zach Randolph. Zach Randolph isn't a good enough player that he would start to dictate how you used the #1 overall pick.

Re: O.J. Mayo Insider....can anyone access this?

6'8" or not, he's going to be on the block. Whether he's posting up other small forwards is up to the coaches. I love Elton (for a Dukie) but if you get a player of Beasley's caliber, you trade Brand. Ditto on Middle Name McKinley.

A Durant-Beasley combo is much scarier than a Durant-Rose combo for the future. It would probably be more even for the other two. Although Miami (which has the best odds) seems to want Rose, Beasley would be a much better fit for them since Marion isn't going to run a pick and roll. I guess I'm kind of biased towards B-Easy because I've watched him play.

Re: O.J. Mayo Insider....can anyone access this?

6'8" or not, he's going to be on the block. Whether he's posting up other small forwards is up to the coaches. I love Elton (for a Dukie) but if you get a player of Beasley's caliber, you trade Brand. Ditto on Middle Name McKinley.

Beasley is going to play a lot on the block against smaller guys. He's going to face up on bigger guys. Kind of like David West. West only posts up on the block against smaller guys. Otherwise, he's a faceup player. I don't think you want Beasley defending most able bodied 4s in the NBA and you certainly aren't going to get the helpside defense that you look for out of your PF.

I see him playing a lot like Carmelo in the NBA. Carmelo's best asset might just be his play on the low block.

If the Clips got #1, a good chance they'd trade down with whoever is picking #2 and take Rose there. I could see that.

Re: O.J. Mayo Insider....can anyone access this?

Just reading over this, I wonder if as we get closer to the draft, if the line between Beasley and Rose and the next group gets blurred.

They say its them 2 and the rest are a notch down, I'm not so sure now. I wonder if there are any "franchise" players in this draft at all or at least in perception.

All I'm getting at is if someone gets the 1 or 2 and doesn't think the player there is worth a pick that high, maybe you can trade into the 1 or 2.

I say this, knowing its a reach and also knowing that the Pacers probably don't have the assets to outbid anyone for a pick in the top two unless you include Granger, then that brings us back to the trade Granger/top 5 pick discussion.

Re: O.J. Mayo Insider....can anyone access this?

I see him playing a lot like Carmelo in the NBA. Carmelo's best asset might just be his play on the low block.

Very good comp.

I'd trade back too if Beasley was on the board.

1. Rose
2. and 3. Mayo and Lopez

These are my options for the Pacers in the lottery. Lopez and Mayo both fit needs and both I can see becoming very good. Since it's becoming a small guy's league, I might lean towards Mayo. He's similar to Roy and J. Johnson and would fit nicely at the 2 for the Pacers.

Lopez was extremely impressive and would be very good in the low block and allow JO to move to the 4 and high post.

Re: O.J. Mayo Insider....can anyone access this?

Damnit, I want Mayo...I have been high on him for a long time, as well as a long time member of the "competitive fire" over "disruptive premadonna" wing of discussion as well. He is going to be a hell of a player in the league.

Also, Thank you to MAL for posting this piece.

Well I can see him failing just as much as many of the other top prospects, but what I like about him is that if he does fail it won't be for lack of desire and effort. Unless he's pulling a pretty crafty mirage.

I won't like it if a pick busts, but I can accept that it happens. Just get a guy that COULD work out and fits the Pacers situation. Obviousy Mayo, Rose, Bayless do that. EJ does too, though I worry about local pressure with him.

I know Beasley isn't as tall, but he reminds me of Karl Malone in his game. Where and how he likes his jumpers, how he works the lane. He's comfortable being physical. I don't really get the Melo/SF vibe from his game at all. I mean I realize that as far as SFs go Melo is fine with contact and inside play, it's just different.

Maybe it's just the moves they each go to or the types of shots they take in traffic. Melo is physical but he's still slashing. Beasley doesn't really slash, he's got more PF bull to his moves. It's just that with his speed he beats his defender to the bull move rather than counting on just his strength to back him off. And he likes to turn to both hands, spin into semi-hooks, other post-like moves even out of some of his "drives".

I don't know if he'll reach HOF level, but if he does I'd expect it to look like a mash up of Barkley and Malone ultimately.

Re: O.J. Mayo Insider....can anyone access this?

I liked Mayo late in the season. But what does that ultimately mean?

"This kid could be great or the next JR Rider."

I would have said that at the start of the school year. But now I would rather have Mayo over Bayless. Bayless is not considered a true pg. But in the end I think that Mayo is the better all around player.